A highly successful single handle faucet valve structure and arrangement is shown by Hayman U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,799, in which stem sealing is accomplished by a sealing ring 38 interposed between the planar upper surface of a control member 20 and the planar lower surface of a sealing member 25. It has become desirable, for the benefit of some market segments, to modify this structure and arrangement to reduce the physical dimensions so as to effect significant savings of materials. However, the desired reduction in physical dimensions precludes the stem sealing arrangement above mentioned for lack of requisite space.
It is known in the prior art, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,384,119, to Manoogian, 3,965,935, to Morisseau and 4,226,260, to Schmitt to accomplish stem sealing in a single handle faucet valve by disposing a suitable sealing ring to coact with a ball portion of a valve stem. When the stem sealing is accomplished in this manner, reduction in faucet valve physical dimensions is feasible. However, such stem sealing, as disclosed by the prior art, does not provide certain advantages that are present in the arrangement shown by Hayman U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,799. It is accordingly the obJective of this invention to modify the structure and arrangement of Hayman U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,799 to utilize a suitable sealing ring that coacts with a ball portion of a valve stem to accomplish stem sealing, while at the same time retaining certain advantages of the Hayman U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,799 stem sealing arrangement.